Towards a Typology of Self-Tracking Gaps

This paper introduces an emerging typology of the 'absences' that confound the study of self-tracking. A review of the literature, and the ongoing work of the authors on the long-term value of self-tracking data, is used as a resource to develop descriptions of levels and types of 'gaps' that emerge as part of the activities, behaviors, technologies, and data practices of self-tracking. Such gaps are shown to be both common and insightful, highlighting the economic, social, behavioral, and psychological layers that undergird self-tracking.